English for Academic Purposes Certificate

Okanagan College offers students an opportunity to improve their English for college and university. The English for Academic Purposes Program (EAP) is a four-level program whose goal is to prepare students for academic studies.

In Levels 1, 2 and 3, students attend EAP classes for up to 20 hours of classes per week. In Level 4, students attend EAP classes for up to 15 hours of classes per week. In addition to their EAP courses, students at EAP level 3 may take one academic course and at EAP level 4 up to two academic courses provided students meet course prerequisites. If a student has mixed levels, the dominant level will determine the student's level. The addition of academic courses must be approved by the academic course instructor and appropriate academic dean.

The program has three areas: academic writing (EAPW), academic reading (EAPR), and academic discussion (EAPD). Level 4 EAPW and EAPR together are equivalent to high school English 12 which is a requirement for many academic programs.

In addition to the above courses, option courses are also available. These include grammar and pronunciation.

Admission Requirements

New students register in the EAP Program after taking an English assessment, the OCELA (Okanagan College English Language Assessment). Students will be placed in the program according to their OCELA score.

Students are not normally permitted to take the OCELA more than once during a 12-month period.

Placement at Level 4 OCELA, or completion of the EL Certificate with a minimum grade of 65% in ELLS 030, ELR 030, and ELW 030.

Graduation Requirements

Successful completion of EAPD 040, EAPW 040 and EAPR 040 with a minimum grade of 65 per cent in each course.